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Portugal · Octopus

Portuguese Roasted Octopus with Garlic Olive Oil

Polvo à Lagareiro

Named for the olive-press men, the lagareiros, this Portuguese favorite is tender octopus roasted until the edges crisp, then drowned in hot olive oil full of garlic.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 1 hr 10 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Medium
Photo: Exilexi · CC BY 4.0
Served with: Portuguese Punched Potatoes ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the octopus

For the garlic oil

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Boil the octopus. Put the octopus, onion, bay leaves and peppercorns in a large pot of unsalted water. Bring to a boil, then simmer 45–50 minutes until a knife slides easily into a tentacle.
  2. Drain and dry. Lift the octopus out, let it cool a few minutes and cut it into tentacles. Pat them very dry.
  3. Roast. Heat the oven to 425 °F (220 °C). Lay the tentacles in a roasting pan with the batatas a murro, drizzle with a little of the olive oil and roast 15–20 minutes until the edges are crisp.
  4. Make the garlic oil. Warm the remaining olive oil with the garlic over low heat for 3–4 minutes, just until the garlic smells sweet and turns pale gold.
  5. Serve. Pour the hot garlic oil over the octopus and potatoes, sprinkle with coarse salt and parsley and bring the pan to the table.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Portugal

Portuguese Punched Potatoes

Batatas a Murro

Small potatoes roasted in their skins on a bed of coarse salt, then punched open with a fist and drowned in garlicky olive oil. The classic partner for grilled cod and sardines.

  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 50 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 2 lb (900 g) small potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed
  • 1 cup coarse sea salt
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

How to make it

  1. Roast on salt. Heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Spread the salt in a baking dish, set the wet potatoes on top and roast 40–50 minutes until tender inside and crisp-skinned.
  2. Punch. Brush off the salt. Wrap a potato in a clean kitchen towel and give it a firm punch with your fist (or press with the bottom of a pan) so it cracks open but stays in one piece.
  3. Garlic oil. Warm the olive oil and garlic in a small pan over low heat 3–4 minutes until the garlic just turns pale gold.
  4. Dress. Pour the hot garlic oil over the potatoes and scatter the parsley on top.

Photo: Adriao · CC BY-SA 2.5

More ways to cook Octopus

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Galicia, SpainGalician Octopus with Paprika and Olive Oil
Luquillo, Puerto RicoPuerto Rican Octopus Salad
Naxos, GreeceGreek Island Grilled Octopus